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Death and dying research paper
Death and dying research paper
Paper about death
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There have been many research studies viewing the perception of a good death from the viewpoints of health professionals such as hospice co-ordinateurs and nurses. Almost nothing is known about dying patient’s preferences and no outcome measures using the concept of a good death are available to demonstrate the value of terminal care.
According to text; clear decision making, pain and symptom management, preparation for death, contributing to other persons, accomplishments, and affirmations of the whole person all are components of a good death (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2011, p. 574). The terms respectful death or an appropriate death are alternative ways of defining a good death.
A good death could be viewed as the natural path of faith commitments made in one’s early life. Robert Kastenbaum stated, “Individuals should be spared extreme mental, spiritual, and physical suffering at the end of their lives” (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2011, p. 573). Poets, professors, priests, and plain folks all speak out about what makes a good death
A Death of One's Own (2000) is a segment that unravels the complications underlying the many choices at the end of life. Narrated by Bill Moyers, the viewers are taken for the bedside of the dying to the obverse line of efforts to expand end-of-life care. Not only does the terminally ill patients struggles with the topics of physician assisted suicide and pain relief that could speed up death, but also the caregivers.
Jim Witcher, an independent-minded man, veterinarian and horse breeder, looking forward to a happy retirement with his wife Susie. Once diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), Jim had to make drastic changes and decisions. As the disease progressed, he decided not to receive excess ...
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...d a new pleasantness as his health weakened. Diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, he refused to accept the time given to live, but spent each day he had living life to the fullest. Five years passed before the illness took his life. Dying with dignity constitutes a good death.
Works Cited
(A Death of One's Own, 2000)
Bibliography: A Death of One's Own. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.
(A Different Kind of Care, 2000)
Bibliography: A Different Kind of Care. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.
(A Time to Change, 2000)
Bibliography: A Time to Change. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.
(Living with Dying, 2000)
Bibliography: Living with Dying. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.
DeSpelder, L., & Strickland, A. (2011). The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. New York, NY: McGraw - Hill.
On My Own Terms: Moyers on Dying. 2000. [DVD] New York: Bill Moyers.
Puchalski, C. M., Dorff, D. E., Hebbar, B. N., & Hendi, Y. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and end of life care. RELIGION, SPRITUALITY, AND END OF LIFE CARE. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com/contents/religion-spirituality-and-end-of-life-care?source=search_result&search=Religion%2C+spirituality%2C+and+end+of+life+care&selectedTitle=1%7E146#
What do the following words or phrases have in common: “the last departure,”, “final curtain,” “the end,” “darkness,” “eternal sleep”, “sweet release,” “afterlife,” and “passing over”? All, whether grim or optimistic, are synonymous with death. Death is a shared human experience. Regardless of age, gender, race, religion, health, wealth, or nationality, it is both an idea and an experience that every individual eventually must confront in the loss of others and finally face the reality of our own. Whether you first encounter it in the loss of a pet, a friend, a family member, a neighbor, a pop culture icon, or a valued community member, it can leave you feeling numb, empty, and shattered inside. But, the world keeps turning and life continues. The late Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers and of Pixar Animation Studios, in his 2005 speech to the graduating class at Stanford, acknowledged death’s great power by calling it “the single best invention of Life” and “Life’s great change agent.” How, in all its finality and accompanying sadness, can death be good? As a destination, what does it have to teach us about the journey?
Gawande’s book is very pertinent to the present day and has by many accounts sparked a national discussion on end-of-life care and how we treat our elderly. With elderly people accounting for a greater proportion of the American populace and as people start living even longer than they do now, end-of-life care will become and remain a major issue faced by doctors, patients, their families, and the healthcare system. Additionally, with our greater focus on improving patient outcomes while getting the most value for our healthcare dollars, end-of-life care is a major area that healthcare systems and hospitals will focus on, as it accounts for a large portion of their budget. As a response to the need to take care of our aging population, hospice care and palliative medicine are some of the newer specialties in the medical field that have been increasing in popularity and more research needs to be focused in these areas to better understand how to improve patient outcomes.
Terminally ill patients deserve the right to have a dignified death. These patients should not be forced to suffer and be in agony their lasting days. The terminally ill should have this choice, because it is the only way to end their excruciating pain. These patients don’t have
End-of-life care in the United States is often fraught with difficult decisions and borne with great expense. Americans are often uncomfortable discussing death and
It is found that nurses report that their most uncomfortable situations come with prolonging the dying process and some struggle with ethical issues by doing so (Seal, 2007). Studies have shown that implementation of the RPC program and educating nurses have increased the nurses’ confidence in discussing end-of-life plans (Austin, 2006). With confidence, the nurse is able to ask the right questions of the patient and make sure that the patient’s wishes are upheld in the manner that they had wanted, such as to not resuscitate or to make sure their spiritual leader is present when passing (Austin,
The author is an award winning journalist, Virginia Morris has devoted her career to research as well as writing about health care, political issues, medical research and related social issues for over two and half decades. After winning the Books for a Better Life Award, the book instantly became the best-selling when first released in the year 1986. An updated edition was published in 2004. She has also the authored ‘Talking about Death’, which came out in paperback in 2004.
The end-of-life nurse’s primary objective is to provide comfort and compassion to patients and their families during an extremely difficult time. They must satisfy all “physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs” of the patient and their family. (Wu & Volker, 2012) The nurse involves their patient in care planning, as well as educating them about the options available. They must follow the wishes of the patient and their family, as provided in the patient’s advance directive if there is one available. It is i...
The care of patients at the end of their live should be as humane and respectful to help them cope with the accompanying prognosis of the end of their lives. The reality of this situation is that all too often, the care a patient receives at the end of their life is quite different and generally not performed well. The healthcare system of the United States does not perform well within the scope of providing the patient with by all means a distress and pain free palliative or hospice care plan. To often patients do not have a specific plan implemented on how they wish to have their end of life care carried out for them. End of life decisions are frequently left to the decision of family member's or physicians who may not know what the patient needs are beforehand or is not acting in the patient's best wishes. This places the unenviable task of choosing care for the patient instead of the patient having a carefully written out plan on how to carry out their final days. A strategy that can improve the rate of care that patients receive and improve the healthcare system in general would be to have the patient create a end of life care plan with their primary care physician one to two years prior to when the physician feels that the patient is near the end of their life. This would put the decision making power on the patient and it would improve the quality of care the patient receives when they are at the end of their life. By developing a specific care plan, the patient would be in control of their wishes on how they would like their care to be handled when the time of death nears. We can identify strengths and weakness with this strategy and implement changes to the strategy to improve the overall system of care with...
A ‘good death’ is something that can help us to evaluate how to formulate improved end-of-life care, free from discrimination regardless of a person’s social level with no stereotyping. Learning to respect difference and diversity and to ensure that everyone is treated as equals with their end-of-life care. Diversity is a concept that forms acceptance and respect of individual differences. Whereas, difference gives us variations within the connection of control leading to
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.
A Good Death Death is final. Some die naturally in a peaceful manner, while others suffer through tremendous pain in order to get there. Euthanasia is the only way for some people to leave all their pain behind. Euthanasia is the act of killing another person in a merciful way. Of course, euthanasia has many more meanings to it than that.
The subject of death and dying is a common occurrence in the health care field. There are many factors involved in the care of a dying patient and various phases the patient, loved ones and even the healthcare professional may go through. There are many controversies in health care related to death, however much of it roots from peoples’ attitudes towards it. Everyone handles death differently; each person has a right to their own opinions and coping mechanisms. Health care professionals are very important during death related situations; as they are a great source of support for a patient and their loved ones. It is essential that health care professionals give ethical, legal and honest care to their patients, regardless of the situation.
middle of paper ... ... a dignified death. Also I disagree with the legal system when criminal charges are enforced upon a person who is assisting another person to die peacefully. I think that people's judgement of euthanasia is negative, as death is regarded as a bad thing. However voluntary euthanasia is positive as it gives the patient personal choice and may shorten the grief of the patient's loved ones if they know that the patient died a peaceful death.
One thing that we often hear is that “death is just a part of life.” So often in our day and age do we hear people utter these words. However, death is far more significant and impactful than some would allege. True death is not merely a time when we cease to exist; it is an entombment, a mindset in which we are dead to this world. Throughout our lives, it is true that we can all be dead in one way or another, but it does not have to be that way. When we have our eyes opened to what death actually is, it is far easier to grasp what the true meaning of life is, and to embrace it. Often, we will come across individuals who are enveloped in death and others who are immersed in true life. The shadow of death and entombment lies upon some, encompassing